Archbishop Viсtor: There will be no victory until Ukrainians turn to God
The hierarch of the UOC expressed regret over the growing incidence of churches in Ukraine being used for other purposes.
Archbishop Viсtor (Kotsaba) of Baryshivka said that there would be no victory until the Ukrainians turned to God, politica.com.ua reports.
“Now every Ukrainian needs support from God. We can only win if the Almighty God is with us. But He helps the righteous, gives strength to those who honor Him, not slander,” the UOC hierarch noted in an author’s column on the pages of the Politika publication.
Archbishop Victor expressed regret over the increasing number of cases when churches in Ukraine are used for other purposes, and cited the Refectory Church of the Lavra, where a concert was held with an appeal to “kill a Muscovite" as an example.
“And it’s not even about the words of those songs that sounded in the ancient Ukrainian shrine. The point is that such an entertainment event in the temple deeply hurts the religious feelings of believers... This has already caused a backlash from the public, ranging from surprise to indignation. This is not only about the believers of the UOC, but also about all the Christians of Ukraine,” he said and added that the Lavra is not the only case.
“For example, in one of the churches of Truskavets, an ‘action’ was held with the appearance of the image of the enemy of the human race, Satan. In another temple, in Lviv, a performance was staged, which, under the pretext of ‘returning to folk traditions,’ propagated paganism. And for us, Orthodox Christians, it does matter where such events take place. Why? Because the shrine is intended for the Divine Liturgy and Sacraments, not concerts. Because the fear of God should prevail over everything else, because ‘The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction’ (Proverbs 1:7),” he continued.
Archbishop Victor spoke about the words of one of the Athonite monks, who, when asked by a Ukrainian pilgrim what exactly needs to be done to win, answered, "Stand in the Truth of God."
“And this is an indisputable fact… Our Ukrainian people have always strived to live with God, which gives us hope to view these infamous occurrences as a temporary phenomenon,” he summed up.
As the UOJ previously reported, the hierarch of the UOC told why the Church in Ukraine is easy to persecute and impossible to destroy.
